Two members of the Vicksburg ARC gave talks to other ham radio clubs last week. Both were well-received.
Ed Schilling KK5ED was the guest in-person at the nearby Jackson Amateur Radio Club for their monthly meeting. Several VARC members traveled over to hear Ed’s presentation on Radiosonde devices used by the National Weather Service to collect remote measurements of temperature and humidity at various heights above the Earth. Jim Armstrong AK5J, JARC President, commended Ed’s very informative talk, saying that it represents the intersection of amateur radio and other related areas of radio technology.
Some other JARC members were eager to have a hands-on take of Ed’s devices and antennas he uses to track the NWS Radiosonde devices, what methods he uses to anticipate their approximate landing area, and how to go about requesting permission to enter private property to retrieve them. In addition, Ed described how amateurs are using the found Radiosonde devices to repurpose them for ham radio, such as Fox Hunt beacons. It was a warm note to learn that Ed’s call sign was previously assigned to his father, now SK.
Some pictures of Ed’s talk at the Jackson Amateur Radio Club:
Frank Howell K4FMH gave his third talk by Zoom to the Sutton & Cheam Radio Society across the Pond in South London. Sutton & Cheam is about the same size as VARC in terms of membership. It was founded in 1946. Frank said, “I feel a kindred spirit with this club and am very gratified to have been asked several times to have me natter on about something I’m interested in,” using the British vernacular. His talk was about “Optimizing the HF Horizontal Loop Antenna,” a version of the one he gave to the JARC and VARC earlier this year. It is partly based on an article he published in the March 2023 Practical Wireless magazine in England. Frank is a Presenter on the ICQ Podcast published in Ireland with a team of others in England, Europe and the United States. Long-time Committee Chairman (President in the US), Martin M1MRB said, “An informative and spot-on talk!”.
